Doctor Who: Series 6

Blu-ray

DVD

Longevity is not exactly an attribute attributed to television series. It is
a big deal when a show manages to survive a meager few seasons. And anything
close to ten years is close to miraculous. Sure there are exceptions with the
twenty year mark reached by series like ‘Gun Smoke’, ‘Law & Order: Prime’ and
‘The Simpsons’ by even those Methuselah series cannot compare to the near half
century one science fiction show has been around, ‘Doctor Who’. The series began
in 1963 ostensibly as a relatively cheaply made show primarily targeting
children. The show was not quite the hit it would become immediately, that took
a significant number of years to achieve. Once ‘The Doctor’ and his trusty
companions captured the imagination of teens and young adults there was no
stopping the juggernaut that had been released. The Doctor is a human looking
extraterrestrial, a Time Lord actually, who travels through time and space in
his TARDIS, a blue London police call box, generally saving the universe from
the most hideous beings you can think of.

The show has accumulated a myriad of awards and world’s records for good
reason; it is one of the most brilliant concepts for as television show ever.
The premise is more conducive to longevity than any other series in history. The
mythos and internal consistency is crafted in such a way that it is only natural
for it to last decade after decade. The usual enemy of a show lasting so long is
the cast. Actors tend to grow out of parts, want to change roles or die off.
Whenever a change in the main character is warranted he goes through a little
Time Lord specific change that occurs at death regenerating into a new
personality and body. This permits the series to retain continuity while each
actor playing the Doctor gets to place his own spin on interpreting the
character. The current incarnation is portrayed by the youngest actor to attain
this highly coveted role, Matt Smith. His variation of the Last of the Time
Lords is a bit of a prankster. Most of the Doctors have a significant whimsical
streak but Smith brought a more energetic exuberance to the role. Sporting
sneakers and a bow tie Doctor Number eleven gleefully charges off into danger.
Each Doctor has one or more companions, usually human, to help drive the
stories. Many of the early companions played the part of the damsel in distress.
The current companion, Amy Pond, is also played by the youngest actor yet, Karen
Gillan. This season she and her Doctor are joined by her husband, Rory (Arthur
Darvill) and the mysterious woman, River Song (Alex Kingston). Much of the sixth
series revolves around a temporal anomaly that liker the Doctor River is a time
traveler but she is moving through time in the opposite direction from the
Doctor so presently she knows far more about him than he does about here. This
is an extreme source of consternation fir the nine hundred year old Time Lord.
He has gotten quite attached to the notion that he knows more than anybody else.
She has her own sonic screwdriver, the ubiquitous gadget of choice specific to
the Doctor and is well versed on the intricacies required to pilot the TARDIS.
It might seem like a lot for a little box to do but thankfully it is vastly
larger on the inside than its external dimensions would logically indicate.

This is arguably one of the most pivotal seasons since the Dr. Who franchise
reignited. Some complain that Matt Smith was too young to play the Dr., and
undoubtedly he is sufficiently youthful to be carded by many bartenders. Still,
Smith is a very talented actor and is able to bring some of the humor is
frivolity that defined most of the original eight Doctors. This is also the
season where a lot of exposition. It helps the audience understand that many of
the characters came from, and most importantly significantly redefined the
future franchise. TARDIS has always been this wonderfully magical box that could
do more than transport the Dr. and his companions, anywhere in time and space.
If you look back at the interior of the TARDIS, over the years, you’ll notice
that the basic set and especially the console change radically, particularly
when the doctor is regenerated. Many times he speaks to the TARDIS as it was a
living entity and has been many allusions to that being true. In this season,
there was an episode for the essence of the TARDIS is condensed into the form of
a young woman. Not only do we get a glimpse between the relationships to have
nurtured over the centuries of a get a different vantage point to their origins.
The story has always been that a young time Lord wanted to break away from the
formalities of his planet and wander around time space on his own. To achieve
this goal, he stole the TARDIS. When the humanized TARDIS relates the same
story, she recalls that she wanted to see the universe, and so she kidnapped a
time Lord.

The enigmatic River song has been around for a couple of seasons by now, and
we know that she is intimately connected to the Doctor but the exact details
remain a mystery. We also find that Rory had been turned into a plastic
centurion and was forced to wait outside ultimate trap fully aware for 2000
years until he can be free in reuniting with Amy. I am certain any woman would
agree that that on his major boyfriend points. Finally reunited, Amy and Rory
managed to get married, albeit in a ceremony that no young girl could’ve
imagined. The TARDIS creates a special room for them to inhabit. The one the
Doctor had created had bunkbeds, which Amy with a Scottish stubbornness the
man’s be removed. Backing himself into a corner of the doctor has to reboot the
entire universe in order to save it from the assembly of enemies has made over
the years. One fact begins to be introduced here that will continue to escalate
importance to a couple of seasons after this it will change the course of the
franchise. The original Doctor was an adventure with an almost schoolboy
fascination everything he discovers. As the time Lord becomes increasingly
involved in saving one species after another slowly morphs into a warrior. Two
is most fearsome foe, the Daleks, he is known as ‘the coming storm’. It is
eventually revealed that in many cultures, the word ‘Doctor’ translates to
‘mighty warrior’. This season sets up a new direction that would begin with this
incarnation and continue on to the next generation. So much happens in this
series that you may have to go back and review a few key episodes several times
to get every nuance possible.

This season, or series as it is referred to across the pond, begins with Amy,
Rory and River receiving cryptic invitations to a location in the United States.
Once they get there they are joined by the Doctor who professes to be two
hundred years older than the last they met. The joyful reunion is interrupted by
a figure dressed in an Apollo era space suit that shoots the Doctor finishing
the murder by shooting again before the regeneration cycle is complete. The nine
hundred year old Doctor meets up with them later but on River’s advice they do
not disclose this incident to him. This initiates the Sixth modern series which
is notable in several ways. The BBC had converted to high definition making this
the first season entirely high definition prepared. To celebrate the greater
profusion of BBC shows here in the states thanks to an increased penetration of
the market by BBC America, this season sets a significant amount of the action
on our shores. Driving the point home are shots of the Doctor sporting a Stetson
hat leaning back with his cowboy boots propping him up. The case and writers had
a lot of fun creating this season and it shows in a great chemistry that is very
evident in the 13 enjoyable episodes. Consistent with the current trend the
season is divided into two parts available separately or in a full season sets.

This season manages to blend the whimsy that has propelled the Doctor into
becoming a Sci-Fi legend and as well woven story that holds together
dramatically. The themes here are slightly more mature that the kid’s show
origins would usually permit but the main thing to keep in mind here is this
show continues to evolve staying fresh. The usual tropes are here with several
historical locations which brings the gang in contact with Apollo 11, Hitler and
Nixon. These serve more as sub plots that cover a couple of episodes providing a
solid foundation for the season long quandary over the final death of the Doctor
and the true identity of River song. While there have been actors better suited
to portraying the Time Lord and his companion Smith and Gillan generate an
enjoyable chemistry for a fun new direction for the series. The high definition
make-over provided by ‘"Auntie Beeb’ comes across in quite spectacular in this
Blu-ray release. The travel of the TARDIS is transformed into a new sensory
experience with the audio swirling around the room while the video becomes a
kaleidoscopic trip. Not the best of the Doctor or even the latest set of
incarnation but still exceptionally worthwhile.